Anime TV goes digital

To satisfy the U.S. demand for popular Japanese anime, manga publisher Viz Media has licensed the digital download rights for the hit Japanese TV anime series Death Note, which is based on the bestselling manga series published by Viz in the U.S. It appears to be the first time a U.S. manga publisher has been able to secure the digital rights to a Japanese TV anime series while it is still popular and running in Japan.

Thanks to the Internet, U.S. fans want the most popular Japanese manga and anime right away. Marks said offering downloads is an effort to “satisfy fan demand” and beat digital pirates at their own game. “It’s up on YouTube anyway,” said Marks. “We’d like to have an official version available. It’s an experiment to figure out a way to get material to fans as fast as we can.”

According to the article, the episodes will probably sell for about $1.99 each.
Link to the Publishers Weekly article